Shanghai Opens World's Largest Starbucks (For Now)

It's only appropriate that the biggest city in the world's most populous country would open the planet's largest Starbucks.

According to CNN, the beloved Seattle-based coffee company has opened a 30,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, China.

The new Starbucks-branded attraction is the first to open outside of the U.S. and roughly twice the size of the original Reserve Roastery in Seattle.

The building, which is designed to look like a giant coffee bean from the sky, houses three coffee bars—one of which stretches 88 feet—a Teavana tea bar made of 3D printed recycled materials, a two-story, 40-ton copper cask used to refill the store's coffee silos and a ceiling covered in 10,000 handmade tiles constructed from American walnut inspired by an espresso machine.

In addition to coffee and tea, visitors can order beer, wine and food. A pair of massive black cast iron ovens will bake up to 80 different products daily. Highlights include focaccia sandwiches with Parma ham, Italian mozzarella and chocolate chunk with almond cookies.

Meanwhile, augmented reality (AR) will allow guests to point their phones at different areas throughout the store to access relevant information, including a tour breaking down how customers' coffee gets from bean to cup.

Customers can also utilize the Roastery app to view digital menus and learn about Starbucks' various brewing methods.

Shanghai's expansive coffee shop won't be the world's largest for very long. Earlier this year, Starbucks revealed plans for a four-story, 43,000-square-foot Reserve Roastery scheduled to open along Chicago's Magnificent Mile in 2019.

Comments

You may use your Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook information, including your name, photo & any other personal data you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on TravelPulse.com. Click here to learn more.